Movie references started slow in the season 1 under Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, and Sam Simon as showrunners, but quickly picked up starting in season 2.

On the show’s commentary, many writers note the increase in these kinds of references in seasons three and four under Al Jean and Mike Reiss, as the popularity of VHS allowed an easier way to replicate classic films. Ultimately, Jean and Reiss left the show to start The Critic (1994-95), which allowed them to focus even more on movie parodies.

Seasons five and six under David Mirkin mark a new peak of movie references, both in terms of total references and major references.

Ironically, by trying to get back to the family-centric stories of Jean and Reiss, Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein took a less reference-heavy approach for seasons seven and eight that drew more from the writers’ own lives.

Season nine continued with the lower number of references introduced by Oakley and Weinstein, with multiple past showrunners chipping in episodes and Mike Scully beginning his eventual run as full-time showrunner.

Seasons ten and 11 under Scully marked another high water mark for movie references, but with a greater proportion of minor references over scene and plot parodies. However, these references have been undercounted by other sources, likely because they are not discussed as much on the commentary. Strangely, season 12 saw a significant dip in the overall number of references.

Finally, in season 13 the show saw an increase in the number of references with the beginning of Al Jean’s long stint as showrunner, while the number of major parodies continued to remained average for the series at large.